Ainsworth's strange situation

• Strange situation:

  • technique used to identify types of attachment
  • controlled observation
  • research room is a novel environment - researchers were behind a two-way mirror
  • infant's behaviour tested in presence of a stranger and separation from caregiver
  • infant's behaviour recorded every 15 s
• Ainsworth aimed to investigate:

  • Infant's willingness to explore
  • Stranger anxiety
  • Separation anxiety
  • Reunion behaviour
• Findings: 3 main types of attachment

  66% Secure attachment

  22% Insecure avoidant

  12% Insecure resistant
• Secure:

  • caregiver is a secure base - willing to explore
  • high stranger anxiety
  • moderate levels of distress when separated from caregiver
  • obvious joy when reunited with caregiver
• Insecure avoidant:

  • willing to explore
  • no/little stranger anxiety
  • indifference when mother leaves the room
  • ignores or avoids mother during reunion
• Insecure resistant:

  • little willingness to explore
  • extreme stranger anxiety
  • intense distress when separated
  • hard to sooth, seeks and rejects contact during reunion
• Secure attachment: 'ideal type'

  • strong attachment of an infant to their caregiver
  • occurs as a result of sensitive responding by the caregiver to the infant's needs
  • related to healthy future cognitive and emotional development
• Insecure avoidant attachment:

  • associated with mothers who do not respond to their child's needs
• Insecure resistant attachment:

  • associated with inconsistent parenting
  • mother sometimes responds to and sometimes ignores the infant
• Strength: the study uses a standardised procedure. This means that it can be replicated due to a high level of control and has been successfully carried out in many cultures. This means that it has allowed researchers to compare attachment types across the world.

  follow with counterargument - artificial
• Limitation: As the strange situation is highly controlled, it means it is an artificial way of assessing attachment. It is carried out in a lab, with caregiver and stranger acting according to a script. This means that the study will not reflect the way in which a caregiver and baby would interact in daily life. This means the study lacks ecological validity.
• Limitation: The strange situation is a culture-bound test which is designed for use in a British/American culture. Children and caregivers from different cultures will behave differently in the study. For example, In Japan, mothers usually terminate the study early due to the high distress of the infant as in Japan, mothers and infants are rarely separated. This means that the same method may not be appropriate for use in all cultures due to differing ways of raising children.